Benayahu ben Yehoyada
Benayahu ben Yehoyada was a warrior of King Dovid and later served as the head general or King Shlomo and a son or great grandson of Yehoyada Hakohen. He was a master Kabbalist and help capture Ashmadi in King Shlomo's quest to find the Shamir.
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Warrior of Dovid
Benayahu ben Yehoyada did not partake in the revolt of Adoneyahu.
Praises & Great Deeds
Benayahu ben Yehoyada performed a number of mighty deeds; He slew an Egyptian, a man of striking appearance. In the Egyptian's hand was a spear and Benayahu went down to him with only a staff. He then grabbed the spear from the hand of the Egyptian, and slew him with his own spear.
Son of a Living Man
Benayahu ben Yehoyada is called 'Ben Ish Chai' - 'son of a living man', since even after he has passed away he is called 'alive'. This is the prime example given of Tzadikim being considered alive after death.
Master Recruiter
Benayahu ben Yehoyada is called 'Rav Poalim Mikabiel' since he recruited and gathered many 'workers' for the study of Torah.
Smiting of Mighty Moabites
Benayahu smote the two mighty men of Moav. This also alludes to the spiritual level Benayahu attained, so much that he did not leave anyone similar to him, neither during the First Beit Hamikdash, nor the Second Beit Hamikdash.
Slaying of Snowy Lion
Benayahu ben Yehoyada went down and smote the lion inside a pit on a snowy day. He had the power to do this since he was accustomed to break the ice and immerse in freezing cold Mikvas so he could study Torah in purity. This power was also attributed to his awesome feat of studying the entire Torat Kohanim (All the teachings related to the Book of Vayikra) on a single, short fall day.
Lion Milk
The King of Persia was deathly ill. His doctors told him his only hope lay in drinking the milk of a lioness. In desperation he requested assistance from the wise King Shlomo, who delegated Benayahu ben Yehoyada to the task. Benayahu and his assistance found a lion's den. Each day he through to them a number of goats and inched closer to the den. Eventually the lions became accustomed to their benefactor and Benayahu was able to take milk from the lioness and bring it back.
Kever Benayahu ben Yehoyada
Benayahu ben Yehoyada is buried in Biriya in North Israel right out of Tezfat. His kever was unmarked until its location was revealed by the holy Arizal to Rabbi Chaim Vital. When Rabbi Yosef Chaim visited the Kever as part of his pilgrimage to Eretz Yisroel he became exposed to vast spiritual enlightenment. Concluding that he shared soul roots with Benayahu ben Yehoyada, he named all his books after him including the Ben Ish Chai, Rav Poalim and Mikabtziel.
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Geographic Coordinates
- Latitude: 32.979828
- Longitude: 35.504331